Sleep Thief
by Chronos-Wolf
Summary: Ryou lost hope of ever getting a good night's rest when a bit of senseless violence on Bakura's part got them abducted by aliens and sent to a strange world where everyone is obsessed with masks. Yu-gi-oh/Majora's Mask. BakuraxRyou pairing. Discontinued... maybe?
1. Senseless Violence

I'll jump right in to the explanations since I haven't been able to come up with anything particularly witty to put in the author comments this morning. _Sigh._

This story is taking place after the Duel City tournament (for Yu-gi-oh) and in the middle of the Majora's Mask storyline (for Zelda).

Ryou and Bakura have their own bodies. They can still merge together but it requires that Ryou is the one wearing the Millennium Ring and that they aren't more than 30 feet away from each other at the time (there's a point to this but you'll need to wait and find out what it is ^_^).

There's a lot more dialogue than there is action in this chapter, but it's setting up some important details for later on.

I'll end off with saying that I don't own any of the Yu-gi-oh or Zelda characters appearing in this story. I also don't own the Prince of Persia (but I do run him up against booby-traps on a regular basis).

- - -

"Ryou. Ryou wake up!"

Ryou slowly became aware of something shaking his shoulder. He moaned and rolled away from the irritating grip, subconsciously pulling the blankets he was cuddled under over his head in the process. Night was for sleeping.

"Don't try my patience Ryou, you're going to get up now."

There was something vaguely familiar about that voice, but Ryou's mind was too clouded with sleep for him to comprehend why he knew it. He pushed the nagging concern that was building up in his chest aside and burrowed deeper into the comforter. "Must… sleeeeeep," he managed to murmur before nodding off again.

"Hikari! If you don't wake up this instant I swear in the name of Ra that I'll send you to the Shadow Realm!"

Ryou's brow furrowed at this and his mind unwillingly began to surface from sleep. Shadow Realm… that sounded familiar. As the cogs in his head began to spin faster he remembered being cold and hungry… and having to go to the washroom really bad. Sighing, Ryou rolled over to face his dark half. From where he lay Bakura appeared to tower over him, a glass of water held ominously in one hand. Ryou glanced past him to where his alarm clock stood and grimaced at what the glowing green numbers told him.

"Kuuuuura... it's one-thirty in the morning! You better have a bloody good reason for waking my up."

Bakura put the glass back down onto the nightstand. "I want to go for a walk," he said, as though it was the most logical thing in the world.

"Go then, you don't need to tell me," Ryou sighed, never ceasing to be amazed at his dark half's antics. "Just make sure to lock the door behind you."

"You're coming with me." Not only was Bakura's voice utterly serious, but Ryou also noted despairingly that he was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet in anticipation.

In a desperate attempt to put his dark half off Ryou's made his eyes go as wide as they could, crystallized sleep still crinkling at their corners. His face began to sink into a cute pout when the effect was ruined by a jaw-cracking yawn. He sighed; the time old puppy-dog look would never work as well the second time round. "And why should I allow myself to be dragged out of bed in the middle of the night? Can't this wait until morning?"

"Well you see…" Bakura looked really excited now. "I just came up with some new maneuvers that I really wanted to try out, and they'd be a bit strange to do in the daylight with people watching."

"Practice them here then."

"Not big enough. I'll also need some rather specific equipment for what I have in mind, and the only place I can think of to look for it is out on the streets."

Ryou reached over and flicked on his bedside lamp in order to better study his dark half's face. Bakura blinked at the sudden light, but the giant grin plastered on his face never lessened one bit. Above the grin his eyes were wide, and oddly glassy.

"Bakura, have you been playing Prince of Persia again?" Ryou asked.

The Thief King made a show of looking hurt at his hikari's accusatory tone. "You buy me games and then scold me for playing them? How cruel."

"I didn't mean to do that," Ryou rubbed his temples, trying to concentrate. "It's a good thing that you play them since they keep you out of trouble. However, sometimes you take things a bit too far."

Bakura looked insulted. "Just because the Prince's athletic abilities should be seen as a model for anyone hoping to improve their skills at break and entering-"

"Bakura! There are footprints all over the living room walls. We're going to need to re-paint everything at this rate. Besides, I don't really think you need to be learning any new ways to break into places, especially such physically risky ones."

"I'm a thief, what do you expect?" Bakura's violet eyes were glinting dangerously.

Ryou's head bowed forward, his eyes sliding shut. "I don't want you to get hurt," he whispered, his voice suddenly full of emotion.

Bakura froze and the aura of danger that had been swirling around him vanished. _You really do care too much for others... _

Bakura watched his hikari squirm. Ryou obviously wanted to relax back into sleep, but he was far too aware of the water sitting patiently nearby and how much nearer it would become if Bakura were feeling particularly cruel. No one moved for a while and Bakura's thoughts began to drift away into crazy acrobatics and sand monsters, so it took him a moment to realize that Ryou had reached a decision to sleep despite the danger it put him in. Bakura snapped back to his old self. "While I find your sentiments warming, don't think that I'm going to let you get out of this. Who else will tell me how cool I look?"

Ryou felt arms snake under the blankets and wrap around his waist. He yelped in protest and clung to the thick comforters, hoping against hope that they'd be able to keep him glued to the bed. It was not to be so; the arms easily dragged him off the mattress.

"No fair Kura!" Ryou whined, batting at the thief weakly, his muscles still half asleep.

Bakura cackled and dragged Ryou across the room, the bed sheets dragging behind him. With one hand Bakura pinned his struggling hikari to the wall, with the other he pulled open the closet door and began flipping though the hangared shirts.

"Come on Ryou, time to get changed," he sung. When his hikari made no move to comply his grin turned taunting. "That is, unless you want me to do it for you. If that's the case by all means just remain standing there with that pitiful look on your face."

Ryou dropped his pout. "So pushy," he complained before yawning again. "Fine, I'll come with you. Just don't think that this will suddenly become a common occurrence."

Bakura smirked and released him, now turning his full attention to the closet. After rifling through a few options he selected a pair of soft jeans and tossed them to Ryou. While the thief's head was still embedded in the closet Ryou took the opportunity to strip off his pajamas. When he had the jeans on he took the proffered blue and white stripped t-shirt and short black jacket that he then pulled on wearily. As he was pulling his hair out from under the jacket collar a pair of rolled up socks zoomed in and bounced off his nose.

"For all your complaining you certainly are obedient," Bakura remarked, watching as Ryou sat down to pull on the socks.

Ryou staggered back to his feet then glanced over to the small mirror that hung above his dresser. "Dressing like you makes people think I'm tougher than I actually am. The school bullies will occasionally leave me alone now."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "A mystery solved."

"Well it's true!"

"Alright, alright. Let's just get going," Bakura reached into the closet once again and pulled out a long black trench that he'd been favoring of late. As he swung it casually over his shoulders the Millennium Ring jangled, the movement having caused it to swing forward from where it had been resting on a shirt exactly like the one Ryou was now wearing.

Ryou was herded out the bedroom door and into the living room. A faint humming noise alerted him to the fact that the television was on despite the dark screen. He made his way over to it carefully, not wanting to step on any of the numerous bits of electronic equipment that lay between them. He pressed the button and the humming stopped. Behind him Bakura was grabbing the house keys from the table. Ryou found himself once again being led through the room, this time ending up standing on the front step. Bakura locked the door behind them and slipped the keys into his pocket.

Ryou couldn't remember ever having been outside at such a late hour. The night was chilly despite it being mid-summer. The moon and stars shone in a clear sky, only slightly muted by the city lights, and a night wind brushed along the streets. A plastic bag rolled by phantom-like, slipping in and out of the flood of the streetlights until it was brought to a halt by a car tire. He turned his attention from the caught bag. "Now that you've got me out here do you want to tell me where we're going, or is this just going to be one long surprise after another?"

Bakura was pensive. "Well, I need somewhere with an awning, and some parallel walls a meter or two apart."

Not wanting to spend more time awake than he needed to, Ryou turned all his thoughts to helping the thief. "Restaurants would be a good bet for finding an awning," he said after a moment. "There's a sushi shop down a couple blocks that I recall has something like that. Why don't we head there?"

"Excellent idea!" Bakura was obviously pleased with the suggestion. He made his way down the stairs, managing somehow to completely vanish into the shadows before reappearing suddenly when he stepped onto the lit sidewalk. Ryou followed after him, hugging his arms across his chest and hunching his shoulders in an attempt to keep warm in the cold night air.

The block rolled by slowly. Ryou's mind began to drift off again into dreams and so he was surprised when he suddenly ran into something warm. Bakura had stopped in front of him and was staring at a nearby lawn. "What in the name of Ra do those people think they're doing decorating for Halloween at this time of year?" he wondered, his voice sharp with scorn.

The object of his distraction appeared to be a large purple balloon with glowing yellow eyes. Despite floating in a very balloon-like manner it had a strange shape, as though it was being pinched and flattened. There was also what appeared to be a fabric ponytail hanging from the back of the body. Two clawed hands hung limp on the end of twine arms, nearly brushing the ground.

Ryou studied the apparition as well as he could in the gloom. "What's it attached to?" he asked.

"Don't know, and quite honestly I don't care," Bakura walked up to the balloon and punched it, sending it careening across the lawn, it's twine arms spinning to keep it upright. Smirking, Bakura continued on towards the restaurant.

"It isn't very nice to go vandalizing other's peoples stuff," Ryou chided halfheartedly. He also tended to take issue to decorating out of season; seeing Christmas lights in June made him want to… well he was never sure what it made him to want to do, but he had a feeling that it would be bad for both him and the offending lights. He glanced back, hoping to get a last look at the strange balloon; it was no longer on the grass however.

"It's gone," he remarked to Bakura. "You must have knocked it loose."

"Good riddance. Hey, if we're lucky it will take out one of Kaiba's helicopters."

Ryou was shocked. "That's not very nice! If he died who'd host more Duel Monster tournaments?"

"I didn't say he needed to be in the helicopter…" Bakura muttered. "I can make jokes you know. Besides, who in their right mind would be flying around at this time of night?" As if to prove his point Bakura stopped and opened his arms to the sky, looking up for any sign of an aircraft. To his and Ryou's surprise there was two yellow dots some way above them. They weren't moving at all, and as the two teens looked on the lights blinked.

"Well, that's just plain strange," Bakura remarked in shock.

"Is that… the balloon from the lawn?" Ryou asked in a hushed voice, subconsciously moving closer to his dark half.

"Maybe it wasn't a balloon." Bakura suggested. No sooner had he spoken than the Millennium Ring tugged at his neck, two of its pointers pointing directly at the yellow eyes.

"What's it telling you?" Ryou asked.

"I'm not sure…"

The eyes began to drift slowly, until they were right above Ryou and Bakura's heads. A trickle of light came down from above, intensifying into a bright stream before either of the teens could react.

"Do you feel lighter than usual?" Bakura asked his hikari upon noticing that his feet were slowly but surely leaving the ground. He looked up and noticed that Ryou's eyes were wide, an unnamed terror swimming beneath their surfaces.

Ryou's mouth opened and closed a few times, his brain still trying to comprehend what was going on. When they were two meters off the ground he finally regained his voice. "Alien abduction!" he wailed, grabbing Bakura's arm and holding on tight. A white light began to surround them. It blocked out the shadowy forms of the houses and the dark stretch of the road.

"Ryou! What in the name of Ra is an alien?"

"If we get out of this in one piece we're watching Star Wars," was the only reply Bakura got (and he found it to be unusually cryptic).

The light wrapped around them possessively, causing the Millennium Ring to flail its pointers wildly, one of them glancing off Bakura's chin when he tried to look down. Then suddenly and completely without warning… the light popped.


	2. Can Loot Do That?

I just got glasses recently and now I can read without all the words splitting in two all the time! –does a happy dance-

Still don't own any Yugioh or Zelda characters.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The feeling of weightlessness vanished with the light and Ryou yelped as gravity took effect once more. He reached his arms upward, hoping to catch hold of one of the alien's dangling claws. Though he waved them about wildly he didn't encounter anything remotely solid and thus wasted his precious airborne seconds. The ground came up hard against his back, driving the air from his lungs. As he lay panting Ryou noticed with some envy that Bakura had managed to twist about cat-like in the air to come down on his feet. The thief was now crouching near his head, a cocky smile on his face.

"You should have concentrated on getting your feet under you rather than flailing about." Bakura remarked.

"Easier said than done!" Ryou propped himself up on his elbows and looked around. There were stars shining in the sky above him, and as he ran his hands along the ground he noticed he was resting on thick grass. Except for several lights drifting slowly in the distance the rest of the world around him was dark. "I can't see a thing," he complained, "It must be the sudden change in light."

"Well, we're in a field, and-" Bakura didn't get to finish his description; the ground began to rumble a moment before a horse shot out of the darkness. Bakura threw himself to the ground as the horse reared, whinnying in surprise, its hooves slicing through the air where his head had been a moment before. Once the horse had settled down a small white light appeared above its head. The light revealed a young boy sitting astride the horse's back, a bow clasped in his right hand. The light fluttered down to where Ryou and Bakura lay, almost as though it was inspecting them.

"Well, this is by far the strangest loot I've ever seen," the light remarked in a high female voice.

Both Ryou and Bakura blinked in surprise and then watched as the light bobbed back and forth in the air on small wings.

"And here I was hoping for an arrow," the boy moaned. "Oh well, back to work," he wheeled the horse about and sent it cantering off back into the darkness.

"Wait!" the light called to the receding shadow of the horse. "Link! What should we do with these? They might be dangerous."

The horse stopped and the boy's voice could just be heard as he yelled back. "We'll deal with that later, right now the cows are our first priority." There was a soft twang in the darkness followed shortly by an otherworldly screech as one of the lights bobbing along the ground went out. Ryou drew back, his heart racing at the sound; Bakura on the other hand didn't seem phased at all. The thief's hand shot out and clasped the small white light before it could flutter away.

"HEY!" the light yelled in its tiny voice. "Let go of me this instant you beast!"

A muscle in Bakura's forehead twitched and he made a point of tightening his grip. "I have some questions that need answering," he said coldly.

"Well they're just going to have to wait," the light answered. "If I don't help Link _They_ will get the cows!"

Ryou scooted towards the light. "By _They _do you mean the aliens?" he asked.

"Aliens?" the light sounded unsure of the term.

"Ummm, well, you know. They come down from outer space in big shiny ships and abduct people."

The light fluttered its wings pensively for a moment before replying. "Yup, that sounds about right, just that ours are after cows… and speaking of cows let me go you spiky haired beast!" The orb lunged at Bakura's fingers and the thief pulled back in surprise, loosing his grip. As the light zoomed off he sat back and sucked on the knuckle of his index finger.

"Stupid thing bit me," he muttered. "I didn't even think it'd have teeth let alone a mouth…"

"Well I suppose you deserved it, you did grab the tiny thing when it had something important to do," Ryou reminded his dark half, patting him on the shoulder.

"Cows?" Bakura asked incredulously, feeling that he didn't need to elaborate.

Ryou tapped his jaw. "Maybe they're special cows?"

"Well no matter how special they are they won't be able to help us get back home."

"Back home?" Ryou sounded confused.

"Yes, because if you hadn't noticed we're in a completely different world right now!" Bakura gestured at the dark field and starry sky.

Ryou turned pale and began to look around again with more focus. "Aren't we just in an extension of the Shadow Realm or something?..."

"I know the Shadow Realm inside and out, and I can tell you that the magic signature in this world is nothing like anything I've ever sensed before."

Ryou started to rock back and forth in shock. "I thought he was a fusion of Gaia the Fierce Knight and Celtic Guardian…"

Bakura put his rant on hold to gawk at his hikari. "That's probably one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard… ever."

"Thanks for making me feel better," Ryou growled sarcastically, a real edge of panic to his voice. "You're the king of sneaking about, so sneak us out of here already!"

Another strange screech echoed over the field, this one farther away than the first. "I don't know how to get out of here, that's why I was trying to ask that light creature, but I guess our plight wasn't important enough for her!"

Ryou scrutinized his dark half in the hopes of catching a glimpse of a mocking grin or mischievous twinkle in his eye; anything that might mean that the thief was just pulling his leg with his claims. Bakura's face remained grave and soon Ryou was forced to admit that his dark half seemed to be telling the truth. Once that fact had been confirmed Ryou rose to his feet and brushed himself off. "Well there's no point in sitting around waiting for something to happen."

"Where are you going?" Bakura barked as he watched Ryou begin to walk towards where the screeches had come from.

Ryou glanced back over his shoulder. "To make myself useful of course," he replied. "I'm sure the boy and the light will be more cooperative if we help them protect the cows. Most people would be."

Bakura scrambled to his feet and raced after his hikari, grabbing Ryou by the arm and giving him a shake. "You actually think we should be trusting them to help us in return? We do appear to have fallen out of one of those alien-things, what if they decide that that means we're also a danger to their precious cows and stick us full of arrows?"

Ryou looked sternly at his dark half. "They'll help," he pulled his arm out of the thief's grip. "And we really need to work on your people skills. The first rule will be: no grabbing."

"Fine," Bakura huffed. "It's not like it should be too hard to take out a few of those balloon aliens." As Ryou continued on into the darkness Bakura reached into his pocket. His hand came out empty. The thief's brows furrowed in concern as he began patting his jean pockets, first the front two, and then the back. Still not finding what he was looking for he moved on to his jacket pockets. It was not long after that Ryou heard someone running towards him. Before he could turn around he felt something ram into him… and stick one of its hands into his pocket.

"B-Bakura!" Ryou wailed. "What did I just say about grabbing people?" The thief ignored him and continued to check all of the struggling hikari's pockets. "Bakura!"

"Hey, Ryou…" Bakura was sounding so worried that Ryou stopped struggling and twisted about so he could see his dark half's face. "I don't suppose you brought your dueling deck along with you?"

"Ummm, no actually." Ryou could now see where this was going. "I thought we were just going out to watch you imitate the Prince of Persia. I guess you asking me this means that you didn't bring yours either."

"How can you sound so calm?" Bakura exclaimed. "Fighting monsters without monsters or weapons isn't an easy thing! The alien didn't seem to care too much when I'd just punched it last time."

Ryou squirmed out of his dark half's grip and flicked him on the forehead. "The boy had a bow, maybe he'll have some other kind of weapon that he could lend us."

"How are you always so optimistic?" Bakura wondered aloud. Ryou merely smiled and led on into the darkness.

It didn't take them too long to find the boy. He was riding in circles around a large building that Ryou and Bakura assumed was the barn in which the precious cows were being held. They watched as the boy paused, drawing his bow, and then fired an arrow straight into the forehead of an alien who was drifting stealthily behind the farmhouse nearby the barn. The alien shrieked and then vanished in a blink of light. As the boy moved to wheel his horse about Ryou ran up to him, followed a second later by Bakura who hadn't been expecting his hikari to do something quite that bold. The boy saw them coming and waited, the little ball of light popped out of his shirt and began bouncing up and down in the air.

When he saw that the boy wasn't going to rush off like he had before Ryou jumped right to the point. "Umm, excuse us, but we'd like to help you protect the cows."

The boy seemed genuinely surprised; he turned to the ball of light. "Can loot do that?" he asked.

"I suppose it can," the light replied.

The boy turned back to Ryou and Bakura. "Do you have bows? Because that's the only thing that seems to work on _Them_."

"No," Ryou was still looking hopeful. "We don't have any weapons, so we were kind of hoping you might have some to lend us."

"I don't have any extra…" Seeing Ryou's face fall the boy thought for a moment. "You could still help me though. Could you go looking in the bushes over there," he pointed away from the farmhouse and barn, "and see if you can find me some arrows? I'm a bit tied up at the moment." As if on cue a little brown dog began barking at something around the corner of the barn. "Sorry, got to go!" The horse and boy dashed around the corner and there were several frustrated shrieks from the aliens who had snuck up while he'd been talking.

Ryou peered around the corner and watched as the boy put arrow after arrow through the heads of the aliens.

"I was never one for archery." Bakura remarked, having also made his way over to look at the obviously one-sided battle.

When the aliens had been driven off Ryou and Bakura jogged in the direction the boy had pointed, and after several minutes managed to locate the patch of grass the boy had been talking about. The grass stood taller than the rest and its blades were thick and dark.

"We're supposed to find arrows in here?" Bakura asked skeptically.

"No harm in looking I suppose," Ryou replied as he crouched down near one of the outermost tufts of grass. He began to part the blades carefully until he got to the center. "Well, what do you know?" Bakura watched as his hikari pulled a bundle of five arrows out of the center of the grass.

"Were they growing out of the ground?" Bakura heard himself ask, logic fighting fiercely in his brain with the visual data just sent from his eyes.

Ryou poked at the ground at the center of the clump of grass. "No, it was more like they had been placed there by someone… but who would hide arrows in a clump of grass?"

"Never mind, we can always ask the kid later," Bakura crouched down beside Ryou. "I wonder what other kind of stuff is hidden in here?"

Five minutes later they'd managed to go through the remaining clumps and had come up with thirty more arrows, a bomb and some shiny green jewels (which Bakura had quickly pocketed). They made their way back over to the barn, and finding a crate sitting conveniently outside, placed the bomb and arrows upon it.

"Oie! Boy!" Bakura called into the darkness. "We got you some arrows."

Hooves were heard pounding across the field and the horse and boy appeared. He rode up to the crate and grabbed a handful of arrows, shoving them into his quiver. "Thanks," he said. "These aliens are so persistent."

"They must have really large forces judging by how many you've already killed," Ryou remarked.

The boy laughed. "Actually there are only about ten of them."

"Whaaat?"

"The aliens don't actually die when I shoot them, they just teleport back to the place they first touched land and then try to get to the barn over and over again, all along the same path too."

"Will they ever give up?" Ryou asked, feeling a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Of course!" the boy replied. "When the sun rises they'll all give up and go back to wherever they came from."

Bakura glanced over at his hikari, realizing that Ryou was still really tired. "And how long until sunrise?"

"A couple hours," the boy replied. He then glanced back towards the field where the lights were slowly getting closer. "My name's Link by the way. What's yours?"

"Bakura."

"Ryou."

The little ball of light popped out of Link's tunic again. "Oh, and this is my fairy Tatl."

"Let me guess, she has a brother named Tale?" Bakura asked without thinking.

"How?-" The fairy seemed shocked. "How do you know about Tael?"

"N-never mind… Shouldn't you be popping those aliens over there?" Bakura pointed to the now discernable shapes coming thought the darkness.

"Ah, right!" Link held up his bow and then charged the aliens, who even though they must have been able to see the boy coming didn't try to move aside.

Bakura watched Link go and then picked up one of the arrows that had been left on the crate. "Hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I…" The thief looked around and then spotting the alien who had been sneaking up from behind the farmhouse grasped the arrow in both hands. Ryou watched curiously as Bakura began running towards the alien; right before impact Ryou covered his eyes. There was a screech and then Bakura started laughing evilly. Ryou peeked through his fingers and saw to his amazement that the alien was gone.

Bakura came back to the crate, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "Death to the ugly lawn ornaments!" he cackled as he picked up another arrow.

- - -

Something was crowing, a rooster maybe…

Ryou sat propped against the barn watching the sun rise over the cliffs that surrounded the ranch. Bakura came jogging towards him over the dew-laden grass; his hands now empty of arrows. It had been a long night; near the end they'd began to run out of arrows and Bakura and Link had been forced to pry open the crate in front of the barn. In the time it had taken them to get at the hidden stash the aliens had almost completely surrounded the barn and even Ryou had been required to take arrow in hand to defend the cows. They'd made it through somehow, but all the running about had drained the remainder of Ryou's energy, reminding him that he hadn't yet had a good nights sleep.

The barn door next to Ryou opened and a young girl came out and began talking to Link. Ryou knew that she was looking at he and Bakura, but his mind was too tired to grasp any of their conversation. As his eyes slid shut he was vaguely aware of someone picking him up and soon after placing him on something soft. He curled up and then fell into a deep sleep, a weary grin on his face.


	3. Speaking in Tongues

**In which Ryou receives another rude awakening, and Bakura discovers a substitute for the Mask of Truth.**

**I don't own any of the Yugioh or Zelda characters.**

**- - - **

Ryou awoke when something warm and decidedly wet brushed his cheek. Rubbing at the slippery trail that now ran along his face he rolled onto his back and looked around blearily. A giant red tongue extended from one side of his vision to the other and before he could move it got him full on. Ryou sat up sputtering and crossed his arms in front of himself defensively as the large black and white head of a cow nuzzled up to him and tried to lick him again.

"No. Bad cow!" Ryou struggled to fend off the over-friendly bovine, but no matter how hard he pushed the cow wouldn't budge. Ryou saw the tongue start to snake out again and he rolled to the side, in the process managing to tumble off the pile of hay in which he'd been sleeping. He landed on a wooden floor that was caked in trodden down straw and woodchips. His nose wrinkled automatically as dust kicked up from his tumble flew into the air and then drifted slowly down around his head. The cow lowed dejectedly and there was a short burst of clear laughter. Ryou jumped, surprised to hear a human voice; there wasn't anyone standing in the open interior of the barn or in the doorway, and he was pretty sure that the voice hadn't belonged to Bakura (and so couldn't have been only inside his head). He caught a glimpse of movement in his peripheral vision and turned to find a hand waving at him from under the cow's stomach. Once the initial shock wore off Ryou tiptoed up and peered over the cow.

Seated on a milking stool, a bucket half-full of milk pinned masterfully between her feet was a young woman with orange hair and bright blue eyes. She smiled up at Ryou apologetically. "Sorry about Bessie," she motioned at the cow. "She tends to get like that when she's being milked."

"N-no problem," Ryou sunk down below the ridge of Bessie's back, trying to hide his embarrassment. The woman chuckled and then pulled the bucket out from under the cow and placed it carefully to the side. She stood up, wiping her hands on her apron before extending one for Ryou to shake. He peered up and took the proffered hand sheepishly, shaking it once before letting his hand fall back to rest on Bessie's flank.

"I'm Cremia, the owner of this ranch," the woman said kindly. "I heard from your brother that you two ended up getting caught up in my little sister's silly game last night."

"I don't have a brother…" Ryou said, puzzled.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed you were related since you look so much alike. His name is Bakura, right?"

"Yeah, that's him." Ryou wondered why he felt so surprised; it wasn't like it was an uncommon occurrence for he and Bakura to be confused for siblings.

"And you're Ryou?" Cremia had made her way around the cow, effectively negating Ryou's barrier. He straightened up and tried not to look too uncomfortable.

"I'm really sorry for imposing on you like this, it's just that with the aliens and all I didn't manage to get any sleep last night."

Cremia gave him a strange look. "There weren't any aliens."

"There… weren't?" Ryou felt himself grow confused. If those things hadn't been aliens then what were he and Bakura kidnapped by? He would have happily passed the entire event off as a bad dream if it hadn't been for the fact that he had just been woken up by a cow in the middle of a barn.

"No. My sister has this strange thing where she believes that some sort of creatures come out of the sky before the festival and try to kidnap our cows. She's been stringing balloons up all over the ranch recently to practice her bowmanship. You and your friends must have confused them for real monsters in the dark," Cremia patted Ryou on the shoulder. "I'm sorry that you ended up loosing sleep over it."

"Wait… _friends_?" Ryou didn't think he knew anyone other than Bakura in this strange world. "Ummm… what festival are you talking about?"

Cremia tapped her chin with a slender forefinger. "Did you maybe fall and bump your head last night?" she asked. Ryou opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off. "You do remember Link don't you, the small boy in green? And I'm talking about the Carnival of Time of course. Even if you are new to this land I'd expect you'd have heard of it, it's all everyone in Termina has been talking about recently. Well, that and how the moon is supposedly going to fall out of the sky."

Ryou didn't know what to say. He had to admit that he wasn't doing a very good job at acting like he belonged here, and it was making him far more anxious than running from monsters in the Shadow Realm ever had. He wanted nothing more than to sneak out the door, but proper social etiquette had him bound in place until he was dismissed. "Maybe I did hit my head…" Ryou lied, rubbing his scalp through his long white hair and noticing for the first time that there were several pieces of straw tangled in it. He tugged at the pieces, trying to disengage them without the help of a mirror.

As Cremia watched the teen struggle her suspicion seemed to abate, eventually she giggled. "If you're needing a ride into town I'll be heading in this evening to deliver a shipment of milk and you and your friends are more than welcome to come along."

"Ah, yes, thank you," Ryou accepted without really comprehending, he was still too focused on getting out the straw.

"Alright, I'll see you in front of this barn at 7 pm. Feel free to wander about until then."

"Thank you," Ryou had caught the part that said he was free to wander about, so without any hesitation he trotted out the barn door and around the corner. He stopped once he had made it a goodly distance along the barn wall and leaned against the wooden planking, throwing up a hand to shield his eyes from the bright afternoon sun. "Well that was just perfect," he moaned sarcastically, his muscles slowly relaxing as the wood warmed his back. "Now she must think I'm insane."

"Who thinks you're insane?"

For the second time since waking up Ryou nearly jumped out of his skin. "Wh-who?" he stuttered, looking around frantically.

"Look down," the voice chided. Ryou did as he was told and found himself looking at a half-size replica of Cremia. "I'm Romani," the young girl said.

"Ah, yes. We were helping you beat the aliens back last night, right?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, I wanted to thank you for that," she threw her arms around Ryou's waist and gave him a quick hug. "Thank you so much for helping me protect the cows!"

Ryou couldn't help but smile. He patted Romani on the head. "It was my pleasure," he replied.

The girl released him and danced away. "I've got to go do my chores now!" she called back to him as she vanished behind the barn. Ryou waved as she went and then turned to face the field that had been speckled with aliens the night before. It didn't seem quite as enormous as it had in the dark, but even so it was a sight to behold. The bright green grass stretched out until it reached the cliff-face that encircled the ranch, broken only by a dirt road that ran past the house. Several trees provided shelter for the black and white cows that roamed in the distance, munching on grass or resting quietly in the shade.

Cremia had said that he could wander around, but as Ryou scanned the field he began to wonder exactly where he could go. He'd had his fill of cows for the day, and he wasn't tired enough to take a nap in the shade of one of the trees. _I wonder what Bakura is doing right now. _The teen sighed and then pushed off from the barn wall. He passed by the crate they'd plundered the night before and kept going until he came to the road.

In one direction the road passed beneath a wooden arch before snaking its way out of the enclosed area through a gap in the cliffs. In the other direction sat two buildings that Ryou had missed the night before due to the darkness. Ryou looked from the arch, to the buildings, and back again. He didn't want to get lost in whatever land lay beyond the ranch, and yet he wasn't excited about having to interact with any more strangers who might ask him questions that he couldn't possibly answer. He sighed and pulled off his jacket, draping it over one arm. Hunger pains were beginning to gnaw at his stomach, making him feel lightheaded and his mouth was completely dry. "I wish I had eaten more for dinner last night…" he moaned before heading towards the two distant buildings.

- - -

"Hmmm, where should I go? The Cucco Shack, or the Doggie Racetrack?"

Ryou stood on the edge of the road, looking at the carved, banner-like signs that adorned the fronts of the two houses. Though he wasn't sure what a Cucco was, it seemed more likely that he'd be able to get a free meal there than at the racetrack. He made his way onto the shack's porch and then over to the door. There wasn't any response when he knocked, so he tried the knob and discovered that the door swung inward easily.

What he found on the other side surprised him. The door opened out onto another porch, this one leading into a small enclosure with walls and trellises scattered randomly throughout. Sitting under a tree in the center was a pale, bare-chested man with pointed ears, yellow pants and a Mohawk that would be the envy of any punk rocker.

"Hello?" Ryou called to the man, seeing that he was apparently lost in thought.

The man looked up slowly. "Hey," he sighed.

Slightly taken aback by the man's depressed manner Ryou was about to back out the door when his stomach growled loudly. The man's eyes studied him quietly, and then sighing again he reached at something behind his back and pulled out a chunk of bread and a bottle of milk. He held them out to Ryou, who walked over and accepted them with an abashed look on his face. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"You're new here. You a refugee?" the man asked, leaning his chin into the palm of his hand and gazing off into the distance.

"I suppose you could say that," Ryou replied, remembering in time to hide his ignorance of the happenings in the world.

The man was quiet, so Ryou took the opportunity to eat, rapidly finishing off both bread and milk. As he was placing the empty bottle on the ground near the man he heard something peeping softly on his left. He looked over and saw a tiny yellow chick approaching him cautiously, big black eyes twinkling in the bright sunlight. Ryou lay down and extended his hand, utterly captivated by the tiny ball of yellow fluff. The chick watched his fingers get closer, obviously curious, and even let Ryou pet it's head several times before scurrying off around the back of a trellis. Ryou giggled, feeling extremely silly, and then glanced up at the man.

The man's eyes were watching where the chick had disappeared, a hint of loving kindness in them that Ryou found a stark contrast to the rest of his sullen expression. "I'd be leaving too if it wasn't for these little guys," the man said sadly.

"Do you regret not being able to leave?" Ryou curled up onto one side and watched the play of the light as a breeze touched the leaves above them.

"My only regret is that I'll never be able to see them grow up into roosters."

Ryou was about to point out that he could take the chicks with him and escape when there was a commotion behind him. The door flew open violently and ricocheted off the wall with a bang loud enough to make even the sullen Cucco man start in shock. Framed in the doorway was Bakura, the tails of his trench coat swirling behind him. In one hand he held the Millennium Ring, it's pointers glowing brightly and aiming right at Ryou. The thief ran over and grabbed his hikari by the arm. "I need you for something," he growled as he hauled Ryou to his feet and then began to drag him back towards the door.

The Cucco man watched his guest go and raised his hand ever so slightly in farewell.

Once outside the shack Ryou managed to wrench his arm out of Bakura's death-grip and put on his best scowl as the thief turned about. "What was that for?" Ryou exclaimed, feeling bad that he hadn't gotten the chance to thank the strange man for feeding him.

Bakura grabbed Ryou's shoulders and leaned in close, his voice a harsh whisper. "You probably aren't going to believe me… but the dogs, they were talking to me!" Bakura's eyes were wider than Ryou could ever remember having seen them and there was sweat trickling down his jaw.

"What dogs?"

"The dogs in that racetrack," Bakura pointed at the other building. "Come on, I want to see if you can hear them too."

"Alright, but first…" Ryou caught the collar of the thief's trench as he was turning around and gave it a sharp tug, dislodging it from Bakura's shoulders. "It's too warm to be wearing something like this," Ryou chided as he pull the trench the rest of the way off. "You'll get heat-stroke."

"Fine." Bakura accepted the now folded coat and draped it over one shoulder. "Now let's go."

- - -

Ten minutes later, Ryou watched as his dark half ran about in the center of the racetrack, a train of terrier-like dogs chasing joyously after him. The dogs were obviously enjoying this new game; Bakura on the other hand seemed more flustered than ever. No matter how hard Ryou had tried he hadn't been able to hear anything but barking from the dogs, a fact that had clearly unnerved the thief. Eventually Ryou had given up and gone to sit in the shade beside the racetrack's matron, a rather large woman in a blue and white striped sundress.

"Those are the dogs that run in the races, right?" Ryou asked, not really wanting to break the silence, but too curious not too.

"Yup, that's them," the woman replied, fanning herself with one hand.

"How do the races work exactly?"

The woman turned to Ryou, and excited glint in her eyes. "Well, all you need to do is go and pick the dog that you think is going to win. Then you place a bet on the race. If the dog you chose comes in first then you win three times the amount you bet. If your dog comes in second you win two times the amount. From third to fifth place you break even and in sixth you lose out."

"It seems like kind of lopsided odds," Ryou remarked. "I mean, there's only a one in six chance that the person betting will lose, the rest of the time they'd at least break even."

The matron smiled. "You'd be surprised at how often people can't seem to pick a winning dog."

"Pick a winning dog for what?" Bakura had jogged over and collapsed beside his hikari in the shade.

"The races," Ryou explained. "We pick a dog and bet on it for a chance at multiplied winnings."

"Oh," Bakura reached for his coat that lay discarded on the grass behind him and began to rummage through the pockets. Eventually he pulled out a handful of cut green stones that Ryou remembered vaguely from the night before. He seemed to recall finding them alongside the arrows in the tall grass. Bakura held out the stones to the woman. "Would this be enough to bet?" he asked.

"Five rupees?" the woman looked surprised. "Well, it isn't much, but I don't see why not."

"Great!" Bakura sprang to his feet and trotted back to the group of dogs. Ryou and the woman watched as he paused in front of each of the canines, his arms crossed pensively. When he came to a gray dog he paused longer than normal, and then scooped the dog up and came back to where they sat. The dog seemed perfectly content to be carried, its ears were perked up and a pink tongue hung from its mouth as it panted from the heat.

"I'd like to place a bet on this one," Bakura stated as he handed the five rupees over to the woman.

The woman accepted them with a grin. "Ok, you two can just wait here as I get set up."

Once the woman was out of earshot Ryou asked Bakura quietly. "Why that dog?"

Bakura looked down at the dog under his arm. "I think he can win… and so does he apparently."

"Hmmm," Ryou reached out and petted the dog, feeling its coarse fur tickle his palm. His hand brushed up against the Millennium Ring when he went to stroke the dog's neck.

"_I think I can win!"_

Ryou froze, but the voice was gone. He looked around, unsure if he had just imagined it. The dog studied him, cocking its head cutely. Bakura also studied him, though without the cute head tilt. "What is it?" he asked.

Ryou shook his head, trying to clear it. "I don't know. I thought for a moment there that I heard something."

Bakura looked at Ryou and then at the dog, finally his eyes dropped to the Millennium Ring. "Well duh!" Bakura smacked his forehead with his palm and then grabbed Ryou's hand, holding it against the Ring on his chest.

Ryou felt his cheeks begin to redden, but then he was distracted by the voice he had heard before.

"_I think I can win!"_

"Is that-"

"The dog?" Bakura finished his hikari's question. "Yes, it is. I knew that the power of the Millennium Ring let me look into the souls of others, but I've never had it let me understand animals before. It must be a phenomenon unique to this world"

"That's… bizarre," Ryou said. "But I guess we shouldn't complain, right?"

Bakura's face split into a grin. "You're finally catching on."

- - -

It turned out that the dog was right when it thought it could win, and as the day progressed the racetrack matron began to wonder if she should perhaps re-think her claim that most people never chose a winning dog.

**- - - **

**Bakura: Wow, look at that. The third chapter up and still not even a single review…**

**Ryou: Chronoswolf must be making a sad face right now.**

**Chronoswolf: TT_TT**

**Bakura: On another note, why am I so spazzy in this chapter?**

**Ryou: At least you aren't socially inept… (I did get to blush though).**

**Bakura: Be glad all you did is blush. With Chronos' kinky mind it's a wonder that this fic has been tame so far.**

**Chronoswolf: For the yaoi! (I can still write some in later).**

**Ryou & Bakura: No one encourage her!!!**


	4. Just Part of the Job Description

**In which there are bandits.**

**Chronos: I'd like to start by thanking all those who commented, favorited or added this story to their watchlist (BB, Vuti-Chan, misssun1, Kiri-chan220, Ina Legal, LittleDragonOfTruth and lukija) I was getting worried for a bit there. ^_^**

**Bakura: *looks at the comments* Oh no someone suggested yaoi! O_o**

**Ryou: = O_O =**

**Bakura: But it can't be in this chapter, right? I mean the rating hasn't even changed yet!**

**Chornos: Fufufufufufu. You'll need to wait and see.**

**I don't own any of the Yugioh or Zelda characters.**

**---**

Ryou sat beneath a small awning that had been erected on one of the inner edges of the racetrack, a brown terrier resting happily on his lap. The dog's tail wagged tiredly as Ryou scratched the short fur between its ears. "You did a very good job," he told the dog, who responded by trying to lick his fingers. "Hey, easy now. I know you're happy; you managed to win two races in a row. I'm pretty happy too, and Bakura is…" Ryou glanced up to confirm that his dark half was still gloating about their great gains to the racetrack lady. "…Well, he seems to be right over the moon, which is a truly extraordinary event all in itself." Ryou noticed that the racetrack owner's hands were resting on her hips, her straight-backed posture reminding him of an angry cat. "Through I'm not sure he's bragging to the right person…" The dog barked, wriggled free of Ryou's arms and then trotted off towards the water trough. He watched it go before rising to his feet. He brushed some loose grass off the back of his jeans and then made his way over to Bakura. Taking the thief gently by the arm he gave the racetrack owner his best smile. "I'm sorry if our presence was inconvenient to you." The woman glared for a moment, but then grunted dismissively and waved them off, turning away to go check on the dogs.

"What was that for?" Bakura demanded, shrugging off Ryou's hand.

"You really don't know when to stop, do you?" Ryou's voice was laden with irritation. "It's really no wonder why we don't have any friends."

"What do I have to do with your friends? If you don't have any you have no one to blame for that but yourself."

"Ah, then I suppose I should just ignore all those times when you were in control of my body and-"

"Hey, they knew that I was the one out to get the Pharaoh. I don't see why that would have made them dislike you and… are you crying?" Bakura asked in disbelief, noticing that Ryou was trembling slightly and had bowed his head so that his bangs covered his eyes.

A single tear slid out from beneath the bangs and Ryou wiped it away quickly. "How were they supposed to know who was in control? Half the time you were acting like you were me; it's no wonder they never really wanted to hang out."

Bakura rubbed the back of his head, suddenly feeling very awkward. He knew that he hadn't been the kindest to his hikari since they'd moved to Domino, but Ryou must still know that he cared about him, right? It wasn't his fault that his hikari had decided to try and befriend the very person he was out to get… "Does it really bother you that much?"

"Of course it does!" Ryou looked up and Bakura could clearly see that despite the teary eyes his expression was shocked, and Bakura wondered not for the first or last time whether his light half considered him irrevocably heartless. "It's nice to have friends…" Ryou finished weakly, his voice choked.

Bakura sighed and looked around the racetrack. Other than the matron, who was pointedly ignoring them, there wasn't anyone else enjoying a walk in the golden late afternoon light or lazing about on the grass to watch the races. Bakura took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," the words felt strange in his mouth and he had to resist chewing them over as he said them. He glanced over at Ryou and saw that the teen had frozen. "What?" he queried brusquely and turned away from Ryou's blank stare.

"You… apologized to me for something," Ryou's voice was quiet and full of awe.

Bakura made his way over to where he'd left his trench earlier and scooped it up, the black fabric warm against his hands. "What's your point?"

"Oh, I don't know," Ryou chuckled and walked to Bakura's side, wiping the last tears from his eyes. Moving closer than he normally dared, Ryou leaned in and rested his head on the thief's shoulder, his hands coming up to grasp the loose fabric of Bakura's shirt. "It just makes me feel like the end of the world is approaching, or something," he murmured, silently blaming his boldness on a sudden and overwhelming feeling of affection that had swept through him when his dark half had apologized.

"I don't understand you at all," Bakura groaned. "First you're sad, then you aren't, and now you're, well…"

Ryou nuzzled his head into the thief's shoulder. "Mmmm, I suppose so," he mumbled.

_What to do?_ Bakura pondered. Acting as some sort of walking pillar of comfort for someone went completely against his nature, however he couldn't deny that it felt kind of good. He patted Ryou on the head, noticing for the first time how soft and silky his light half's hair was in comparison to his own. _It must be all the conditioner he uses._ Bakura thought as his hand began to stroke Ryou's hair gently. The teen responded by looping his arms around the thief's neck, letting Bakura bear more of his weight as he relaxed his muscles.

Bakura wasn't sure how long they stood like this. The golden light of afternoon began to darken into a red that tinted the sky and ground, tiny stars already becoming visible at the highest peak of the sky. The grass rippled as a cool breeze snaked through the gaps in the stone cliffs that surrounded the racetrack. As the breeze reached them both Ryou and Bakura shivered, their coats lying forgotten on the ground.

"It will be night soon," Bakura remarked, his hand pausing on top of Ryou's head. "I wonder if Cremia will allow us to spend another night in her barn?"

"Ahh, I'd forgotten!" Ryou exclaimed, jumping backwards so fast that it was only the thief's quick reflexes that saved him from being head-butted in the jaw. Ryou quickly scooped up his jacket. "Cremia said that she was going in to the town tonight and that we should meet her in front of the barn at seven o'clock if we wanted a ride. Hopefully she hasn't left yet!"

"There's a town nearby?"

"I guess so. I figured that it would be worth checking it out, and since you've just won us a bunch of –what was it that they called them again? Rupees?– we'll be able to stay at a hotel or inn and not impose on Cremia's hospitality any longer."

"I suppose that makes sense," Bakura said as he pulled on his coat. "And come to think of it, this morning that Link kid and his annoying ball of light mentioned something about coming back to the ranch this evening. Though I don't know why they'd be coming back for a ride to the town, I mean they already have a horse…"

Ryou, unable to come up with a reasonable explanation, shrugged. "We can only ask him when we get there," he said as he began to jog towards the exit, Bakura close on his heels.

Five long minutes later they came up alongside the barn. In the falling twilight the glow of lanterns was clearly visible streaming through the half open doors. Shadows danced along the ground, and soon Cremia emerged leading a sturdy gray mare. She made her way to the road where a covered wagon sat in the gloom and began to harness the horse, the cinching of leather and jingle of tack every so often interrupted by a low whinny. In front of the barn Link was sitting on the crate, his feet swinging back and forth, the sound of his boots taping the wood coming as rhythmically as the tick of a clock. Out of breath from the jog, Ryou was forced to lean on the red planking of the barn, one hand clutching at a stitch in his side. Bakura, who didn't seem at all phased by the physical exertion, walked over to Link and leaned back against the crate, his arms crossed over his chest.

"What brings you back to share a ride with the rest of us poor mortals?" Bakura asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Link looked over at the white haired thief, his face a mask of innocence. "I was about to ask you the same thing. I would have thought that you'd have already gone home by now."

Having recovered enough wind to stand properly Ryou made his way over to the group. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"Well," the green clad youth began, leaning forward slightly and lowering his voice. "Have you ever noticed sometimes when you've just finished talking to someone and they leave the room that they vanish?"

"No," replied Ryou.

"Yes," replied Bakura, then added. "But it was part of the job description."

Link didn't seem too worried about their opposite answers. "It happens a lot to me," he confided. "Sometimes I'm even the one doing it! Then again that mostly happens when I do something stupid like fall into a bottomless pit or a lava pool. For some odd reason I just end up waking up at the beginning of the room or area I was exploring."

Ryou and Bakura's eyes were wide with disbelief, and while the thief kept quiet Ryou couldn't help but ask: "B-but! Doesn't doing those things mean that you're dead?"

"If I did it often enough I might, but I'll be alright the first couple of times." Link said lightheartedly, his carefree attitude making Ryou and Bakura all the more confused. "That's why I thought you might have just reset to wherever your home is."

Bakura tapped his chin pensively. "No, somehow I think it's a little different for us."

"Oh," Link's face fell. "I'm sorry to hear that, but if you're looking for advice you could always try talking to the Great Fairies. They know a lot about magic and have helped me out many times in the past. Or if you're really desperate you could try finding Gebola."

There was a burst of light from Link's tunic and Tatl appeared. "Oh, not that owl again!" she moaned, flitting irately back and forth. "All he does is talk too much and give vague instructions: that thing with the invisible ice blocks? Not amusing."

"If you think he's long-winded you should meet the owl I knew back in Hyrule."

"Gebola is an owl?" Ryou asked, puzzled.

"Yes," Bakura replied before Link or Tatl could get a word in. "And the other people we're supposed to go to are _fairies!_" Ryou sighed in defeat, he didn't think he'd ever be able to get used to the strange things in this world.

The crunch of boots on gravel announced Cremia's arrival to where they were waiting. "Well I'm all set to go, why don't you go get settled in the back of the wagon? Just be careful not to bump the jars of milk, I'd hate for them to be spilled."

"Alright, we're on our way," Link said cheerfully before hopping down from the crate.

"I just need to go tell Romani we're going, I'll be with you in a second."

As Cremia rushed into the barn the trio made their way to the wagon. The inside bed was completely flat, the wood pounded smooth by countless cargos. A small lip was the only preventative in place to keep the three giant jars currently sitting beneath the domed canvas roof from sliding out the second the wagon began going uphill. As they were climbing past the jars Ryou noticed that each had a skin lid tied in place with twine. He tapped his finger against the nearest and concluded that it was nearly full to the brim. Once he was past the milk he curled his legs into his chest, making room for Link and Bakura. As the two others took their places in the crowded wagon Link whispered: "About the Great Fairies: I wouldn't recommend you look directly at them… ever!"

"What's so bad about them?" Bakura asked, looking skeptical.

Link gave an anguished smile. "It's hard to describe… it leaves you with a burning sensation behind your eyes though."

"How… reassuring."

It was then that Cremia swung onto the front of the wagon. She picked up the reins from where they were tied to a peg on the bench and flicked them. The horse threw its weight forward into the harness and the wagon slowly began to move. Once the wagon was on the track leading out of the ranch Cremia leaned back and, draping one arm casually over the padded wooden bench, turned to face her passengers. "Will this be your first time to Clock Town?" she asked them.

Ryou and Bakura nodded while Link shook his head. "I've been there before on several occasions," he replied.

"Well I'm just glad for the company," Cremia shifted her gaze back to the road. "To tell you the truth I've recently been having a lot of trouble with bandits stealing my milk shipments."

Link perked up at this and drew out his bow from somewhere underneath the shield on his back. "Don't worry," he told her. "I'll hold them off until we get to the town."

Cremia looked over her shoulder and smiled gratefully. "Thank you, I really appreciate your help."

They were passing under the arch that marked the ranch's entrance. Ryou watched as the grasslands disappeared behind the sheer rock walls that lined the track. He twisted around to see what was in front of them. The gray horse was plodding along, showing little sign of its heavy burden. Before it the track ran straight down a gentle incline, only a small strip of darkening sky visible above them. As they rattled along Ryou noticed that there seemed to be something crossing the track before them.

"Oh no," Cremia had also noticed the obstacle and pulled back on the reins, bringing the wagon to a jouncing halt. Bakura and Link turned about to see what the matter was.

"A roadblock," Bakura remarked upon seeing the spiked wooden fence that had, by the look of its jutting nails and lopsided crossbeams, been hastily constructed.

"We'll need to take a detour through the Gorman Bros. racetrack," Cremia stated shakily, steering the horse to the right where there was a small gap in the cliffs.

"That's exactly what they want you to do!" Bakura exclaimed, looking like he very much wanted to smack his forehead.

Cremia sat up straight, her head set resolutely. "I know, but we don't have a choice. The milk need to be delivered by tonight and besides, this time I have all of you with me." Link saluted cheerfully and then moved nearer the back of the wagon, stationing himself directly behind the middle jar of milk.

Tatl popped out of his shirt and began to flit around. "You ready?" she asked her partner.

"As ready as ever," Link replied, notching an arrow and holding it loosely, his eyes scanning the dark road behind them.

Ryou felt an arm snake around his torso, he looked at Bakura feeling confused and slightly excited as the thief pulled him close. "Hold on, this is probably going to be a rough ride," Bakura advised.

Nothing happened at first. The path widened out into a racing circuit, the grassy patch in the middle fenced off from any sort of access. Cremia kept the horse at a fast walk, not wanting to tire it out needlessly. The clouds were sent hurrying away by a far up wind, starlight illuminating the track. In the distant area that had been until recently cloaked in shadow were two figures on horseback. The horses were tossing their heads as though eager for the chase to begin. In contrast, the riders remained still, the moonlight glinting off the metal points of the pitchforks they carried. Without warning the riders as one gave a great yell and spurred their mounts, the horses going from standing to a gallop in instants.

"Yah!" Cremia yelled, flicking the reins hard. The gray mare didn't need to be told twice, her ears were flat against her head in fear and she threw herself forward, her hooves striking the ground faster and faster as she accelerated.

The wagon began to rock dangerously as each pebble sent the wooden wheels airborne. Ryou's body was stiff, shot with more adrenaline then he'd ever experienced all at once. He understood what Bakura had meant about the rough ride as he was sent crashing into the back of the bench. His head reeled from the impact and he suddenly became aware of the taste of blood. Bakura was cursing in Egyptian beside him and then Ryou found himself cradled in the thief's lap, strong arms protecting him from being tossed out of wagon.

"Kura…" he mumbled before slipping into unconsciousness.

"Damnit Ryou of all times to knock yourself out!" Bakura yelled as he struggled to keep a hold on Ryou's limp form.

"Enemies closing!" Link stated, his voice loud and unusually calm. Bakura looked up and saw that the bandits had closed the distance between themselves and the wagon. Though large hoods covered their faces their whoops of glee were loud in the air. The pitchforks came down like lances and the bandits gave their horses another kick, sending them into attack range. Tatl zoomed out and hovered next to the nearest bandit's head, guiding Link's shot. The boy drew back the bow and then fired off three shots in rapid succession. Each hit its mark: two in the bandit's chest and one into the shadows of his hood. The hit bandit's horse began to drop back and Bakura snarled in approval, his raiding instincts from long ago kicking in. His glee was cut short however when the first bandit's horse began to recover its speed, its rider still shouting battle cries into the night.

"Why isn't he dead?" Bakura yelled, hoping to be heard over the clatter of hooves, rattle of wood on stone and raucous cries.

"Why would he be?" Link answered back. He sent a volley of arrows at the second bandit, forcing him to fall back as well.

_Why? Well it might be because you just__** shot him full of arrows**__!_ Bakura didn't bother pointing this out aloud; somehow he didn't think he'd make any headway with his argument what with the counterevidence boring down upon them.

The game of tag seemed to continue on for an eternity, the bandits always coming too close for comfort only to be then driven back by Link's excellent marksmanship.

"We're nearly out!" Cremia called, snapping the reins one last time. The gray mare put on a final burst of speed and shot out of the racetrack and back onto the main road. The wagon swung hard and tilted up onto two wheels as they made the tight corner. When it had settled Link and Bakura looked back. The bandits were still in the divide between the racetrack and the road, as though there was an invisible wall that they couldn't cross. They screamed unintelligibly in anger, their horses rearing and adding their own screams into the night air. Eventually they turned away and disappeared back into the shadows.

Something shifted in Bakura's lap and Ryou slowly opened his eyes. "Huh?" he moaned. "What's going on?"

"You missed all the action," Bakura informed him. "Now be quiet, I'm tired."

Ryou didn't understand, but he closed him mouth and let his dark half hold him, noticing how the thief's muscles had gone unusually limp. Link sat down beside them and leaned against the bench. He closed his eyes and sighed, looking perfectly content to enjoy the quiet while it lasted.

They passed out from the narrow road into a field even larger then that of the ranch. The giant remains of trees studded the new landscape like watchtowers sprung from the earth, the turret-like jagged spines of broken wood silhouetted against the star filled sky. Soon the soft thud of the mare's hooves on the grass was replaced by a hard clatter. A mighty gate enveloped them and then they were surrounded by houses.

Cremia pulled up in front of a low-slung establishment. 'Milk Bar Latte' the sign above the door proclaimed, Ryou noticed once had climbed out of the wagon followed closely by Bakura and Link.

"Welcome to Clock Town!" she said cheerfully, and then turning to Link she curtsied. "As a show of my gratitude for your help I want you to have these," Cremia reached under the driver's seat and pulled out a mask in the shape of a cow and a large red crystal heart. Link accepted them, the heart vanishing once it touched his hand.

"Thanks," he said while he tucked the mask away somewhere on his back. Once Cremia had gone into the bar Link turned to Ryou and Bakura. "Well, here we are. What are you planning to do now?"

"Go to sleep," Bakura moaned. "It feels like I'm covered in bruises. I don't suppose you know of any inns around here?"

"There is one," Link said, sounding a bit down. "But it's full at the moment. You would have needed to go there on the first day in order to get a room."

"The first day of what?" Ryou asked, the pounding in his head not dampening his curiosity.

Link blinked and then looked away. "Oh, it's nothing… just how I count."

Bakura looked grumpily at the young boy. "Well where are we supposed to sleep then?"

Link thought for a moment, his bent index finger pressing against his lips. "I'd try North Clock Town," he eventually said. "It's more of a park really; lots of grass and no people wandering about to disturb you. You just need to head up the stairs here and then head left through the first arch."

"What about you?" Ryou asked.

"I still have some stuff I need to get done. I'll come looking for you guys in the morning and we'll see if we can get anything out of the Clock Town Great Fairy that might help you go home."

"Much obliged," Bakura yawned widely and turned away, limping slightly as he made his way up the stairs. Ryou, after having bided Link good night followed after.

**---**

**Bakura: We were spared!**

**Ryou: Just barely though…**

**Chronos: That aside, how is it possible that this chapter ended up being longer than the last (which was longer than the last, which was longer than the last…)**

**Link: I hinted at the story's plot in this chapter *feels proud***

**Chronos: *pats Link* R&R and stay tuned for the next chapter in which Ryou has a very scary dream!**


	5. Iron

**In which Ryou has a scary dream. **

**A/N: This chapter is a bit of an interlude; it'll make sense once you get to the end, just trust me.**

**The dream is based off of a story that I heard long ago at guide camp. I don't know if the older guides had read it somewhere or had invented it themselves, but I always remembered it and now get to pass it on to others. ^^**

**I don't own any of the Yugioh or Zelda characters.**

**---**

Ryou sat with his head leaning against the car window, watching as the tangled undergrowth of the forest rolled by. There wasn't much out there: a mix of fir and cedar trees with prickly blackberry bushes crawling along below their imposing overlords. Ryou noticed that the seatbelt was digging painfully into his shoulder so he sat back and contented himself with watching the dirt road appear suddenly in the two interconnected puddles of light cast by the headlights before it vanished under the hood of the car. His father sat next to him, steering the vehicle with ease over the bumpy terrain.

"You'll just love the nature camp!" He exclaimed, looking over at Ryou with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Camp?" Ryou asked, unsure. He looked over his shoulder and saw that there was a large backpack lying on the back seat. Beside the bag sat a small brown terrier. When the dog saw that he'd caught Ryou's attention he wagged his tail and barked once. "Good job," Ryou told the dog without knowing the reason why.

"I used to go here all the time when I was younger," Ryou's father continued. "It's a lovely site. You get small, fully outfitted cabins right on the lakefront. You wake up to birdsong every morning and fall asleep to the crickets every night! And…" he added, his voice dropping conspiratorially, "you get to go on a special hike, right round to the other side of the lake where the old maximum security prison is. It was still open when I came here so we had to keep a good distance away from the fence, but it's been closed for over a year now. Who knows, you might even get the chance to go in and explore!"

"D-dad! Who in their right mind would want to do something like that?"

"Who wouldn't want to?" his father's voice dropped again. "It's rumored that before the prison closed down, some of the inmates went missing. The army was called in to search, but they couldn't find any trace of them. It could be that they died of exposure out in the woods, their bodies then consumed by the wild animals, or that they drowned in the lake. Or… maybe they're still out here living like ghosts among the prison ruins, just waiting for their next victim to wander by before they _snap_ them up!"

On the word 'snap' Ryou felt something grab at his wrist. He jumped, his heart nearly skipping a beat. "Dad that's not funny!" he exclaimed when he'd calmed down enough to see that it was his father, now steering the car single-handedly, who had grabbed him. "I don't know why you'd even sign me up for a camp that might have psychopathic killers wandering about!"

"Ryou, Ryou. I said it was a rumor didn't I?" he chucked and released the teen's wrist. "There have never been any reports of incidents, or even sightings, of anything unusual at the camp. There's nothing to worry about."

The dog barked once again from the backseat and then fell silent, its tail curled at its side.

Not long after the path opened up and the car pulled into a large clearing. A fire pit sat square in the middle, the outlines of bodies sitting around the brightly dancing flames visible in the falling darkness. "They really weren't kidding when they said that road delays could add hours to your trip," Ryou's father remarked as he turned off the car and pulled the keys from the ignition.

A middle-aged lady was coming over to meet them, the word 'Leader' splayed across the front of her sweatshirt. "Hello," she said once they'd gotten out of the car, the dog also scampering out to stand near Ryou's feet. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"Sorry about the short notice," Ryou's father apologized. "I can't believe I missed the registration date!"

"No problem at all. As we always say here: 'the more the merrier'," she replied good-naturedly before turning to Ryou. "Most of the campers have already gone to bed, so you should just focus on getting a good night's sleep and worry about introductions in the morning. Now as to your accommodations…" The woman pulled out a clipboard and began to flip through the pages, angling them so that the light from the fire illuminated the white paper. "Oh, it seems that all of the main cabins are already filled to capacity…"

"Where will I sleep then?" Ryou asked, feeling a sinking sensation in his stomach.

The woman paused a moment, her brow furrowed in thought. "We have one other cabin a bit farther in the woods. It wasn't part of the recent renovations, but it's still really quite nice. It has a couple cots and an attached washroom."

Ryou's father cut in. "Is it the one with the deer antlers attached above the door?"

The woman looked surprised. "Why, yes it is. Have you stayed in it before?"

"Every year that I was here," the man stated proudly, winking at Ryou. "Don't worry son, you'll love it."

The white haired teen sighed, not feeling at all reassured. Bending down he picked up the dog and hugged the canine to his chest; the dog wagged its tail and licked his fingers reassuringly. "I guess that means I'll be staying alone…" Ryou wondered why it felt so painful to say that.

The camp leader had obviously heard the sadness in his voice because when she turned back to him there was pity in her eyes. "Why don't you keep your dog with you?" she suggested. "Normally we don't allow pets at the camp, but I think that we can make an exception in light of the circumstances."

"That's wonderful!" Ryou's father exclaimed before going to the car in order to grab the large bag from the backseat. He lugged it over to where his son stood and placed it at his feet. "Well I better be heading back now if I expect to make it home before tomorrow," he extended his hand to the camp leader. "Thanks for all your help," he said as she accepted his offer and shook it.

"Aren't you staying too?" Ryou asked wistfully, deep down already knowing what the answer was going to be.

"At a teen camp?" the man laughed and ruffled Ryou's hair. "Did you maybe bump your head this morning?" he teased. He made his way back to the driver's side door and pulled it open. "Have fun!" he called to Ryou before climbing in. The car rumbled to life, the glare of the headlights bright in the darkness before they turned away and vanished along the forest track.

Ryou watched the car go, a dead feeling in his chest. _Why does this feel so familiar?_ He wondered before turning to follow the leader to his cabin, dragging the heavy bag along behind him.

---

The cabin was chilly, Ryou remarked as he crawled into the cot and pulled the covers up around his ears. It also smelt faintly of dust and rusting metal pipes, a smell that not even leaving the mesh covered windows open seemed to be able to dispel. There weren't any dressers or closets, so Ryou had left his bag mostly unpacked, rummaging through only to find his pajamas and a toothbrush with toothpaste. Even with the rusty smell all the washroom facilities seemed to work perfectly well and the water was clean. There was even a shower in the washroom, something that had surprised Ryou considering the rustic atmosphere of the camp.

Closing his eyes Ryou tried to fall asleep, but every couple minutes he found his eyes opening a crack to peer at the empty cots surrounding him; he shivered, and not from the cold. Subconsciously he lowered one hand off of the mattress and let it swing back and forth like a pendulum just above the floor. He jumped as there was a happy bark from beneath the cot and then something was licking his fingers.

Ryou relaxed when he remembered about the dog. Having the dog lick his fingers, telling him that everything was alright, felt so natural and he wondered if he'd always done this and just forgotten due to the strain of being in a whole new environment. Regardless of the past Ryou felt himself drift off to sleep, the hand the dog had licked curling back up under the blankets and resting against his chest.

It was several hours later when Ryou woke up again. At first he wasn't sure why he'd suddenly been pulled out of a deep sleep and lay on his back, staring at the dark wooden ceiling. The sound of running water slowly caught his attention and he sat up. It was too steady to be rain and too near to be coming from one of the other cabins. Ryou swung his legs out of bed, shuddering as his bare feet came in contact with the cold floor. He made his way over to the bathroom, fumbling along the wall all the way for the light switch. He never found it and by the time he'd made it to the bathroom counter he'd given up. He patted the smooth surface until he came to the sink, and then sticking his hand into the dip confirmed his suspicion. Cold water was rushing out of the faucet. He turned it off, feeling slightly confused as to how it had been turned on in the first place.

"Just my luck…" he moaned before heading back to bed, noticing in passing that the metallic scent in the washroom had gotten stronger. Once he was safely back under the covers Ryou dropped his hand down and smiled when he felt the dog lick his fingers.

Ryou hadn't been asleep long when he was awakened again by the sound of water.

"Awww…" he moaned, burying his head into his pillow in an effort to block out the noise. Despite his best attempts it wouldn't leave him alone and so once again he found himself crossing the cold floor to the washroom and making his way to the sink. This time it was the hot water that was on. Ryou withdrew his hand quickly from the scalding liquid and shut off the tap.

Ryou stumbled back to bed and had barely made it under the covers when the dog licking his fingers sent him off to sleep.

Disoriented and disgruntled, Ryou found himself waking up for a third time in the night, the sound of running water rushing into his ears. He pushed off the bed, too irritated to notice the cold bite of the floor on his feet or the scent of iron washing over his tongue. He marched to the bathroom and stuck his hand in the sink, not even needing to feel around for its location anymore.

There was nothing there.

Ryou stood dumbstruck. If the sound of the water wasn't coming from there, then from where? He remembered that the cabin had a shower and made his way along the wall in its direction. When he'd made it halfway his fingers brushed over something hard. It was the light switch, finally. Ryou flicked on the lights and stood still a moment, letting his eyes adjust.

The white shower curtains were drawn shut, the sound of water coming tauntingly from behind them. The smell of iron was almost overpowering now and Ryou wrinkled his nose as he took hold of the flimsy plastic. He threw back the curtains, the scowl on his face proof that he was ready to scold the shower for interrupting his rest.

What he saw stole the fire from his eyes.

Ryou dropped to his knees, his hand flying up to cover his mouth. Something was hanging off the shower chord like a gutted fish: only this was no salmon. Ryou watched in horror as the corpse of the small brown dog swung back and forth, pushed by the gentle stream of water. Its small furry body had been beaten until it was barely recognizable and bits of organs and intestines bulged from the one long gash that had been made along the dog's stomach.

Tearing his eyes from the corpse Ryou noticed that the white tiles were covered in a spray of red dots. He felt his head grow light and the dots began to dance across his vision, and so he almost didn't notice one patch of tile that had been wiped clean, the dots here transforming into orderly lines.

_Words._ Ryou felt himself dropping away. _What do the words say?_

_**Murderers lick hands too.**_

---

"AAHHHHH!"

Bakura awoke with a start just in time to be hit by a flailing arm. "What in the name of Ra?" he cursed before pouncing on his writhing hikari.

Ryou continued to struggle blindly, his eyes white with fear. "The dog!" he cried out into the night. "Licking…"

"Ryou, it was only a dream, now get a hold of yourself!"

"B-but the murderer, he…" Ryou was shaking and panting for breath.

"Oh for the love of Ra…" Bakura sighed and dropped down beside the terrified teen, embracing him tightly. Ryou's body remained rigid and Bakura could feel hot tears dripping onto his neck. "Nothing happened, it was just a dream," the thief crooned before tilting his hikari's head back and licking the tears from one of his cheeks.

The world was very still for a moment, and then it exploded.

Bakura found himself tumbling along the ground, Ryou having kicked him off with a strength that surprised the thief.

"The murderer was licking!" Ryou exclaimed, backing up until he was pressed against the cool stone of the city walls that stood not far from where they'd been sleeping. "Bad licking…"

"And now my bruises have bruises." Bakura muttered before rolling so that his back faced his hikari. "If that's all the thanks I'm going to get then you're on your own."

And with that the thief sunk back into slumber, leaving Ryou to scrutinize every shadow until dawn.

**---**

**Bakura: Well that was kind of disturbing…**

**Ryou: The rating didn't end up going up though.**

**Chronos: I don't know if it should have...**

**All: ... *ponders***

**Link: *pops out of thin air* There were so many references to the previous chapters!**

**Chonos: *Laughs* What can I say? I like that kind of thing ^_^**

**Ryou: R&R! **

**Bakura: And tell Chronos if you've heard the scary story this is based off of before so that she knows if she should put in some sort of crediting…**


End file.
